Introduction

The goal:

To turn this ugly shed...





...into a soundproofed room for practicing and recording drums, guitars and vocals. Totally stupid idea right? I mean look at those windows and that door, it will probably amplify any noise that comes from within it! Plus the guy that just moved in and owns that shed is a complete nimrod when it comes to all things hardware and construction, he's a musician and an IT guy for crying out loud! Hey, wait thats me... but its true, I am completely useless when it comes to handy-man type of issues, let alone construction. Well, something had to be done, I needed my own space, somewhere where I can play and record away from my family, but close enough so I am available. Inside the house worked last year for a bit, but when the kids were asleep, I was itching to pound the drums.

The first thing I did was search the Internet on how/if this could be done. I researched soundproofing materials and their costs and what people thought of them. There wasn't much information on DIY projects, but loads of good info from construction workers, professional audio studio owners, engineers, etc. IE. people with money to spend on this kind of thing, but not so much for the hobbyist and people with a tight budget. This is why I am doing this blog, to put something out there by a regular Joe and how I did it pretty cheap. Especially cheap if band members could split the costs of every thing.

Finally, I hope this blog helps, and please comment if you need further details or any advice. Again, I am a complete newbie when it comes to construction and soundproofing, so if anyone wants to point out what I should've done instead, suggest another way, or just wants to LOL at some of my mistakes, please let it be known. You won't be stepping on my toes at all or hurting my feelings.

Materials

Here's the inside of "the box":





The dimensions are 16'x 8'x 7'. I researched the Internet for the best/cheapest soundproofing materials. I looked into everything from acoustic curtains to Owen Corning acoustical walls to egg cartons. Green Glue looked interesting, I read hours of the debate on AVS forums on wether it was hype or the real deal. I too figured there is probably something with the same properties as Green Glue to use and save a lot of money, but I couldn't be convinced of it. After wringing my hands and brain and finally my wallet, I decided on going with Green Glue. Heck, after reading all the debate, I sorta just wanted to see if it really works!



I decided to get two cases of the Green Glue, the combo case that includes two sealants and a regular case which came too $363 with shipping. When I tried to order over the Internet, I had read on the AVS forum about getting a discount by using a code, but it wouldn't work. I called Green Glue and asked them about it and they said to try this other code, so I did and it didn't work either. I went ahead and ordered it anyways figuring I was getting the run around, but in the "Comment" box on the order page, I complained about the code not working. Well, I received the invoice in my email and soon after I got this email as well:

I just wanted to let you know that I was able to make changes to your order that allowed you to get a discount. You should have received an email from our shopping cart showing those changes. Thank you for your interest in our products and please feel free to give us a call should you have any questions.

Regards,

Josh Henstorf
Sales Representative
Green Glue Company
710 11th Ave N.E.
West Fargo, ND 58078
866-435-8893
701-232-1332 Fax
608-566-5876 mobile
www.greengluecompany.com

Well, I never did receive an email from their shopping cart reflecting the change and I still ended up paying full price. I kept an eye on my bank account as well and it was never credited. I emailed Josh back that I never received that email/discount but never heard back from him. Well so much for that...

I have a friend named Fez that knows construction and I told him about my project. He offered to help me haul the drywall from Home Depot over to my house. I purchased 30 sheets of 5/8" (the thickest they had) of 4'x 8' drywall which was around $8 a sheet ($240). Spent another $10 on 1.5" nails for the first layer of drywall and then got 2" box of nails for the second layer. Fez loaned me his drywall gun and some big ruler thing for cutting the drywall, and showed me how to cut it with a razor and then how it just snaps off. After spending around $620 in materials, I took a deep breath and went to work.

Construction

First thing to do was to drink a beer and crank up the stereo. I then took all the trim off the doors and windows and pulled out the electric sockets and the light switch. After that was finished, I opened another beer and started hanging the first layer of drywall. My buddy Fez had shown me how to adjust his drywall gun to where the screw head would hopefully be flush to the drywall paper once it is in there. Those sheets of drywall are heavy for one person, and if you look back at the picture from the previous post, if you'll notice that lightbulb in the middle of the room, I busted that thing three times in two nights while moving around the drywall. Oh yeah, I should mention that this was all in the summer in Louisiana. The temperature after 5pm most evenings has been just under 100 F.


Stack of drywall on the floor:

The first two sheets:


Notice in this picture how the drywall left white on the ceiling beams. I didn't cut that one right at all. Drywalling is a tough skill! At first I was terrible at it, but by the second layer of drywall, I had learned how to stick a crowbar underneath it if I cut it a little short and lift it up with me foot and some other little tricks to get it into place. Sometimes though I'd just have to take it back down and cut it again which sucked. All in all it wasn't bad though, I sweated and drank and cursed and sang to the radio. Actually, it was kind of fun!

I got the first layer of drywall hung and my buddy Fez offered to help me do the ceiling. Here's a picture of him and his son Marx inspecting my work as Fez wonders just what the hell he got himself involved in, haha.



We got up the first layer pretty quick (its a lot easier with some help!) and decided to go ahead and put on the Green Glue compound and finish up the ceiling.



Fez came over and helped again with some of the second layer one evening. Here's a picture of the Green Glue applied to a 4x7-ish sheet. Green Glue recommends 3 bottles of their product per 4x8 sheet, but this is just two bottles, 3 per sheet was more than I was willing to spend. Oh! I should also add that I didn't have a gun to squirt it out, I just used a stick to push in the back and that worked fine. Also, I took a piece of drywall and spread it around as evenly as I could over the wall.



It took me a couple more days to finish it up. Oh, I should also state that on the second layer, I laid it out opposite of how I did the first layer so the seams of the drywall wouldn't match. Here's some more pics:

Oh! I scored the carpet from a church's dumpster a block away and laid it down:

Audio Testing

Green Glue claims it takes 10 days or so for the soundproofing compound to work and then it gets better as time goes on. Well of course I wanted to test at at day 1. I cranked up the stereo closed the door and walked around. In the back I couldn't hear the stereo at all, but on the sides I could hear it faintly and in front of the door it was still pretty loud. A lot better, but I wasn't happy with it. The door is hollow and is made out of some really thin sheet metal. I decided I needed to make another door I can slide into place to help out. Here's some pictures of the door I made by using my last sheet of drywall and pieces of drywall I didn't need:





The Sandwich:



This turned out to work great! Also the same day I made that door, I noticed a neighbor down the street had carpet laying in her front yard. I went over and looked at it and it was in great shape. I asked her if I could haul it off and she was excited by my offer, she didn't know how she was going to get rid of it. I took it home and cut a piece of it and screwed it to the metal door and then laid a large piece of it on top of the existing carpet I got from the church. I had some extra scraps left, as you can see in these next pictures I hung those up as well:









I tested with the stereo again and between the carpet and the makeshift door, it worked great! I could barely hear the stereo! Inside the shed you can't hear anything outside and has that creepy quiet feel like in a recording studio. The next day I hauled out the drum set to see how loud they were going to be and if I should expect the neighbors to be calling the police:



I got my daughter to pound on them and even with the makeshift door not all the way in place (so I could get back in! Its heavy!) I could barely hear them outside! Yay!! I've been playing on them after work and ask my wife if she can hear them and she says no. It worked! I still have the two Green Glue sealant compounds left, I think I am going to use them around the frame of the metal door. I think the only thing left to do is make it more aesthetically pleasing, will probably paint it or hang posters up or something.